A room of one's own is a necessity, according to writer Virginia Woolf. She was talking about succeeding as a female author in early 20th-century Britain, yet personal space is equally important if you're a male architect in 21st-century Hong Kong. That's according to Kan Sze-king, who has treated himself to not just a room but an entire flat in which he can devote time to his hobbies.
His 760 sq ft apartment in Robinson Road, Mid-Levels, is in the same street as the larger family home he shares with his wife.
'Everybody likes to have a place of their own,' Kan says. 'My other place is very different - bigger with lots of furniture and antiques. I bought this because I want somewhere for all my hobbies, which include cycling, listening to music and cooking, and somewhere I can put my architecture books, art and gadgets.'
When Kan bought the 35-year-old flat in February, it looked like something out of the 1960s, he says, and was 'horrible and dark'. To let in more light, and so he could have an outdoor area, where he could clean his bikes, Kan restored a disused small balcony that extends from the living room. He also gutted the interiors and changed the layout of the flat. 'I flipped everything. [For example], my bedroom is bigger than the living room,' he says.
Kan, whose refurbishment cost HK$700,000, knocked two bedrooms into one, converted one of two bathrooms into a walk-in wardrobe and created an open-plan kitchen that segues into the living area because he likes to be able to talk to guests while he's cooking.
'The plan of this place was like a frog's legs,' Kan says. 'Rooms were set at an angle and they were an awkward shape.'
